


Time

by Kyuubiluver342



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Galo Needs A Hug, Lio Needs Some Time, M/M, Meis and Gueira Are Best Bros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:01:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22688908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyuubiluver342/pseuds/Kyuubiluver342
Summary: Lio just needed some time. He just took a lot longer than anyone realized. Now, his actions might have cost him everything.
Relationships: Lio Fotia & Gueira & Meis, Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 7
Kudos: 114





	Time

If Lio was going to be honest, he wasn’t sure when things changed from ‘Acquaintances/Allies’ to ‘they legit didn’t know where one stopped and the other started when they curled up on the couch together’. It had happened so fast, so suddenly and yet, it was just so… simple. Galo offered him a home, friendship, a job and safety, all with just a smile and a twinkle in his eyes. He offered Lio everything he had ever wanted since he woke up as a Burnish and never asked for anything in return. He never demanded anything more from Lio, never asked him for things Lio wasn’t willing to give. He was always patient and happy to accept what Lio could give him, whatever bits and jagged pieces Lio had to offer.

When Galo asked about his past the first time, Lio had clammed up immediately. He expected Galo to be mad, angry that Lio wouldn’t share that part of his life with him, but he just nodded and told him to take his time. Galo had never pushed him, never pressed him, never demanded anything from him, yet Galo handed over his whole self with no strings attached. He practically handed Lio his heart on a silver platter and honestly, Lio wasn’t sure what to do with it.

These were the thoughts that swirled in Lio’s head one night as he lay awake. He should be asleep. A warm bed? A soft blanket? An arm around his waist attached to a very warm, breathing man who loved him unconditionally? All of these things should have made it easy for Lio to drift off, but instead they made the static in his head worse. He felt so fucking restless.

Half a year had passed and while life wasn’t exactly normal for the city, it was as normal as they could make it. In the morning, Lio would get up and take a shower while Galo sang horribly off key in the kitchen, making breakfast for them both. Then they would ride together to the station, where either they would go work on the reconstruction of the city or paperwork for the ex Burnish. It was simple, normal, safe and yet Lio felt like he was going out of his head.

He never thought he would long for the days where they were on the run. The nights spent out under the stars, always on the move least they be found by the Freeze Force. How could Lio want those days back? Lio felt Galo press closer to his back and sighed.

“You want to leave the city?” Meis asked confused.

Gueira seemed just as confused, both of them looking at Lio with uncertainty. Lio huffed and scrubbed a hand through his hair.

“Yes? I think so.” Lio mumbled.

Lio didn’t ‘think’ anything. He knew he had to leave. He just needed some time, time to figure things out, time to get himself back under control. Meis and Gueira glanced at each other.

“And you’ve talked to Galo about this?” Gueira asked.

Lio snarled, baring his teeth.

“He is not the boss of me! I can go where I want!” Lio snapped.

The two held their hands up, eyes wide.

“Whoa, whoa, easy there, Boss.” Meis said.

“Yeah, I didn’t mean anything by it! I just… I mean have you talked to him about it?” Gueira asked.

Lio turned his head away.

“No…” he said quietly.

The two shared another look.

“So… you’re just gonna… leave?” Meis asked slowly.

Lio knew what they were thinking. That he was running away, that he was going to leave a good guy behind in the dust. He grit his teeth. A hand was placed on his shoulder and he looked at Meis.

“Boss, if you want to go, no one can stop you. I mean hell, no one certainly was able to stop you before! And I am more than happy to follow you anywhere you go, but Galo…” Meis looked at Gueira.

“Galo deserves a conversation at least.” Gueira finished.

Lio swallowed and then looked down. 

“Very well then. I’ll talk to him tonight.” Lio said gently.

Galo stared at him and there was something in his eyes that made Lio wince. Galo slowly placed the stew on the table, the dinner he had worked on while Lio rambled about his feelings and how out of sorts he felt, before he sat down across from him.

“You… want to leave…” Galo trailed off.

“Travel.” Lio corrected quickly.

Leaving meant going away forever. Lio didn’t want to leave forever, he just wanted to travel a bit, that’s all. He would be back in a few days and everything would be fine, they could go right back to normal. Galo glanced at him before sighing. He took his mittens off and rubbed at the back of his head.

“It’s not forever, you know. I just… there are Burnish…” Lio found himself unable to finish his sentences.

Galo paused and then held out his hand. Lio stared at it and then at him. Galo was smiling, even if it was small and sad. He took Galo’s hand and Galo squeezed gently.

“You don’t have to explain. It’s ok.” Galo said gently.

Lio wanted to explain though. Wanted to explain why he felt trapped, like he was choking in this city. That he just needed a few days of open road and clear skies and then he would be fine. Fine to come home and go back to the way they were. Yet, the words never came and Galo eventually let his hand go, walked past him and closed the door to their shared bedroom behind him.

Lio sat there as the food went cold and he did not sleep.

Lio loaded the last bag on to his bike and then looked at Meis and Gueira. They were all set, their bikes packed and ready to go. Lio wiped his brow and turned, startled to find Galo standing there along with the Burning Rescue Squad. Galo smiled, and it was that small, sad smile again that Lio hated, but it was only for a few days. At least, that’s what Lio kept telling himself.

“Be safe ok? And if you need any help, just let the World’s Number One Firefighting Idiot know!” Galo said loudly.

Lio smiled and they shared a kiss. Lio hated to break it, but eventually, he pulled away. There was one final look between them before Lio got on his bike and they rode off.

A few days turned to a few weeks, and then a few months. As Lio and his generals travelled, they found small camps of Burnish, many of whom had no idea what happened to their flames. They needed a leader, someone to show them the way. Lio, stepping once again into the role of leader, found time quickly slipped away from him after that. There was so much to do, so much he had to focus on that other things fell by the wayside.

At first, Galo texted him pretty regularly, multiple times a day in fact, just little things he thought of that Lio would like, a picture here, a story there. It made Lio feel warm, but he often found himself too busy to text back or reply. Over time, Galo’s every day texts became once every two days, then once a week, until they stopped completely. Lio didn’t even notice.

“Haven’t heard from Galo in a while.” Meis mentioned one night while they slept out under the stars.

Lio looked up from his can of soup, startled to realize he was right. He pulled out his phone and opened the last text from Galo, not even sure when that one came in. Staring at the screen, he noted it had come in over a month ago. He also noted he never replied to it. A pang went through him and he found himself scrolling back through his messages, trying to see when the last time he actually message Galo back was.

“Has… has it really been ten months?” Lio said slowly.

Meis and Gueira both looked up, startled.

“Has it?” Meis asked.

Gueira just shrugged.

“Honestly, I haven’t been keeping track.” Gueira replied.

Lio frowned. He really hadn’t expected to be out of the city this long, but time had really gotten away from him. He brushed a piece of hair out of his face and paused. He hadn’t even noticed that it was getting long. Normally, he kept it very short, but right now? It was past his shoulders. Meis handed him a hair tie and he tied it up.

“Maybe it’s time we headed back.” Lio said when he was done.

Gueira and Meis agreed and they made a plan to start heading back to the city that night. As they settled down to sleep, Lio found himself reading over some of Galo’s old messages. His eyes watered when he started to notice his past self replying less and less until he stopped replying completely. Galo, for all his worth, had held on, continuing to message Lio regularly for several weeks before his messages started to trickle to a stop.

He wondered, suddenly, if Galo had been hurt by his actions. Wondered if maybe, just maybe, Galo had given up on him. The idea that Galo had taken this as a sign that Lio no longer cared about him hurt more than Lio could say. He curled up a bit and tried to get some sleep. They had a long ride tomorrow.

Unfortunately for them, bad weather moved in the next day. They were forced to find a place to hole out until the weather cleared, which took several days. In the end, two weeks had passed and yet, every day, Lio became more and more anxious. He had tried texting Galo’s number back, but got no reply and when he attempted to call, the phone just rang and rang. Lio felt like he was going out of his mind.

When they finally got on the road, Lio found himself pushing his bike to go as fast as it could go. He wanted to go home, he wanted to see Galo, he wanted to return to the place they had left behind.

“I see lights!” Gueira yelled.

Lio let out a sigh as the city came into view. It had been months, almost a year since he had seen it and he quickly noticed a lot had changed. The ship that had taken over most of the city was pretty much gone, leaving just a small section left. It seemed to him that the city had expanded some and it quickly became apparent that they no longer knew their way around. What should have been an easy ride back to the station ended up with them lost and having to ask for directions.

When the station did finally come into view, their relief was short lived. The station looked abandoned and believe them, they knew an abandoned building when they saw it.

“The hell happened?” Gueira asked.

“I’m… not sure.” Meis muttered.

Lio let out a low, slow breath. The place looked like it had been abandoned for months. The grime had started to build up and Lio knew that Remi had taken special pride in keeping the station looking clean. Had they moved stations? He had to wonder.

“Lio?” someone called.

Lio and his generals turned to see Aina standing there, but she was different. She wore a blue jacket with silver stripes on it and her hair was down, a lot longer than they remembered it being. She was staring at them, startled.

“Aina.” Lio breathed.

Aina would have the answers. She had to know what was going on.

“The station.” Meis said pointing.

Aina blinked and then her eyes softened. She walked over, a bag of groceries in her hands.

“Yeah. About a month after you guys left, the council decided that Burning Rescue… wasn’t needed anymore. After all, we were created to take care of Burnish related fires. Without Burnish…” she shrugged.

“But what about the team!” Gueira said.

“We got disbanded. I was moved to the new air force rescue team. Varys and Lucia were moved to the city reconstruction and demolition team. Remi was given his own police team and Ignis was handed a job as the new city fire marshall.” Aina explained.

One name was missing and Lio frowned.

“And Galo?” Lio asked.

Aina paused and then looked down.

“They wanted to move him to the new firefighting team, but he rejected it. Last time I saw him, he was working in the council’s office.” she said softly.

Lio felt his world tilt. Galo… had quit? Galo wasn’t a firefighter anymore? That didn’t make any sense.

“That doesn’t make any sense! Galo practically lived to be a firefighter!” Gueira snarled.

Aina sighed and rubbed the back of her neck.

“To be honest, it was a shock to us all. We tried to talk him out of it, but he just said it was better this way.” Aina replied.

Lio looked down. So much had changed. He felt so out of the loop. Aina coughed.

“If you guys want, you can come to my place. I can catch you up on all you missed?” she said.

Lio wanted to say no, wanted to go find Galo, but there was something about the way she spoke, the way she locked eyes with him that told him there was more he needed to know. They agreed and headed back to Aina’s place. There, Aina closed the door and sighed.

“You seem stressed.” Lio said.

She gave a tired smile.

“It’s been a rough few months.” she admitted.

She placed her groceries on the table and looked at them.

“I guess you guys should sit down. It’s gonna take awhile to get through.” Aina said.

They sat as she put her stuff away.

“To be honest with you, we didn’t have a choice to disband or not. Ignis fought tooth and nail to keep Burning Rescue going, but the city wasn’t having it.” Aina paused.

“They wanted to get rid of everything that Foresight had touched. Us included. If you walk around, you won’t find a single trace of Foresight or anything he created in this city. Buildings have been demolished or renamed. Statues taken down and the Foresight Foundation was ripped to shreds. We were the last ones standing when it was all said and done.” Aina explained.

“I’m so sorry.” Lio whispered.

“It was rough, but we made do. Then, they started taking our funding away. Our mechas were falling apart so bad, Lucia couldn’t even put them back together anymore. We were struggling and then the council came in and offered us each a position.” Aina looked down.

“I had to take it. I was about to be evicted for not paying my rent. Galo had already lost his apartment and Ignis was struggling to feed his family. We had no choice.” Aina’s eyes filled with tears.

She seemed so embarrassed, like she had failed or something. Lio could hear the despair in her voice. He could only imagine how hard it must have been.

“I’m so sorry.” Lio whispered.

Aina walked over and sat down. She looked away from them, staring at the wall in silence.

“Galo was the last to hold on. He tried, but in the end, he said he would rather quit than be forced onto another team.” Aina sighed.

“So wait, if it was that bad, how did Galo end up working for them?” Gueira asked.

“To be honest with you, I don’t know. One day, he’s against them and then next, he’s working for them… well not exactly.” Aina said.

“Not exactly?” Lio asked confused.

Aina bit her lip.

“He’s working… for the Foresight Removal Foundation. I don’t know how it worked, but he’s in charge of removing Foresight’s name from every building, landmark and statue in the city.” Aina admitted.

Lio felt the breath leave his body. What?

“That’s… too cruel.” Meis whispered.

Aina nodded, eyes wet.

“It’s like the council is punishing him for what Foresight did. He’s the one who had to remove all the statues, the plaques and everything else that had his name on them. It’s like they are trying to remind him that Foresight was his hero and that he did all these horrible things.” Aina shook her head, wiping her eyes.

“How long ago was that?” Lio asked.

His mind went to the text messages, when Galo’s messages had stopped completely. Aina frowned.

“About five months ago? I think at least.” Aina replied.

Lio swallowed. That matched the time Galo had stopped texting him. Lio lowered his head and closed his eyes. 

“Boss?” Meis asked.

“Galo stopped texting me around that time.” Lio whispered.

Meis and Gueira suddenly understood. Aina sighed.

“Maybe you should go see Galo… but first, a shower.” Aina wiggled her nose and Lio blinked.

Admittedly, looking at himself in the mirror for the first time in a long time, he looked like he had crawled out of a ditch. All three of them washed themselves off while Aina helped them with their laundry. Some clothes were just not worth keeping at this point, but they managed to clean enough of them to have a decent outfit to wear.

“Thank you, Aina.” Lio said sincerely.

Aina smiled.

“Honestly, it’s the least I can do right now. There’s no bringing Burning Rescue back, but we will always be a team.” Aina said, holding out her fist.

Each of them bump it in turn before they leave and as Aina watched them take off, her smile died.

“Hopefully, you can help him.” she muttered.

Lio and his general ride right to the council building. He was nervous, admittedly. He had no idea what would happen when they saw Galo, no idea how he would react. Lio parked his bike and let out a breath. It was now or never. They walked over to the door just as it opened and Galo stepped out.

“G-Galo?” Lio choked.

Galo looked up from his phone and stopped. Gone was the spiked mohawk, the red pants, in his place someone Lio had never met before. He had grown his hair out and it was now braided on his shoulder. He wore a simple black sweater and jeans, hell he even had glasses on! Lio could only stare.

“Lio…” Galo muttered.

He looked just as shocked, staring at Lio and his generals as if he had no idea what to make of them.

“Hey.” Lio said with a wave.

Maybe the sun had fried his brain, that was the only thing that could explain the absolutely stupid ‘hey’ he just gave. Gueira snorted behind him before he yelped and Lio didn’t need to turn around to know Meis nailed him in the side with his elbow. Galo straightened his back a bit and smiled, but it wasn’t a real smile. It was the kind of smile you flashed strangers, just trying to pacify them. Lio hated it.

“I uh didn’t know you guys were back in town.” Galo said, shifting the papers in his hands.

“We just got back this morning.” Meis replied.

Lio immediately wanted to step on his foot. It was way past morning now, almost night. He saw something flash in Galo’s eyes, a hurt Lio wanted to kiss away, but just as quickly, it was gone.

“Right, of course. You guys were probably busy, getting settled back in and stuff.” Galo replied.

“Actually, we met up with Aina. She was explaining a few things.” Lio explained.

Galo nodded absently.

“Right, I mean a lot has changed since you… well.” Galo shook his head.

The words “since you left” hung in the air like a guillotine’s blade. Lio swallowed.

“She told us about Burning Rescue. I’m sorry to hear you guys got disbanded.” Lio said gently.

What was this? “Lio stick his foot in his mouth” day? He saw the way Galo’s face shut down, saw the way he straightened his spine and knew he hit a nerve.

“Yeah, that happened, but it’s over now.” They all jumped when a sudden sound startled them.

Galo let out a sigh and pulled a phone from his pocket. Lio noted it was a phone he didn’t recognize. Galo didn’t seem pleased to see it going off.

“Look, this was nice and all, but I have to go. I guess I’ll see you guys around.” Galo said quickly.

“Wait, Galo.” Lio moved towards him, but Galo was already walking away and Lio found himself at a loss for words.

Galo disappeared around a corner and Lio’s legs went weak. He was caught by Meis, who yelped, startled.

“B-Boss?” Meis whispered.

Lio looked at him and could feel the tears rolling down his face. He let out a shuddering breath before he started to sob.

They ended up renting a hotel room for the night, but Lio wasn’t really tired. The conversation with Galo circled in his head and he wished with all his heart he had done more, said more. Galo had clearly been waiting for him to say something, but Lio hadn’t. He rubbed his face with his hand and stood up.

“Boss?” Gueira called.

“I need some air.” Lio muttered as he left.

He walked around the city, dimly taking in the new sights. Aina was right, everything that had anything to do with Foresight was gone, including street signs. He paused as he stopped near the ship’s crash site. He stared at the wreck, feeling out of control and lost. Back then, it had all been so simple, now nothing was simple. He kicked a rock and watched it disappear into the darkness.

“Oh.” someone said.

Lio turned and was startled to see Galo standing there. Well, swaying there more like it. His face was flushed and he stunk of alcohol. Lio wiggled his nose. Galo and Lio stood there, staring at each other before Lio coughed.

“I’m sorry… about earlier.” Lio said gently.

Galo stared at him hard before he snorted and Lio was shocked by how dismissive it sounded.

“Yeah, isn’t everyone.” Galo said rudely.

“Galo, I am sorry. About a lot of things.” Lio said.

Galo rolled his eyes.

“Fine, whatever.” Galo replied.

Galo turned and started to walk away, but Lio quickly reached out and grabbed his sleeve.

“Galo, wait, please.” Lio begged.

Galo ripped his sleeve away and glared at him.

“I did wait!” he roared.

Lio flinched back.

“I waited and I waited and I waited! And guess what! You never came back!” Galo yelled.

Galo turned to him and Lio had never been concerned about their size difference before because he knew Galo would never actually hurt him, but he had also never seen Galo drunk as hell before either.

“And then you come back and you’re all ‘hey Galo, nice day huh?’ like it didn’t fucking matter! Like you didn’t rip my heart out and shit on it. Like you didn’t leave me in the dust! Like… I didn’t fucking matter!” Galo yelled.

Lio stared, unable to even form words. Galo’s eyes were teary and he looked as upset as he was angry. Lio swallowed.

“Galo…” Lio trailed off.

“No! Ok, no, save it! Because I don’t want to hear it from you!” Galo barked.

Lio bit his lip and felt his own anger boil up.

“It wasn’t like that!” Lio snapped.

“Wasn’t it! Because that’s what it fucking felt like!” Galo replied.

“I just needed some time!” Lio said.

Galo threw his hands up in the air.

“Well, you were gone for a year, so I guess you got plenty of it!” Galo snapped.

“I don’t mean to be gone so long! A lot of things happened, Galo!” Lio explained.

Galo scuffed loudly.

“So, that’s it then? A lot of shit happened and I got pushed to the wayside? I got forgotten about because you were busy?” Galo demanded.

Lio paused and looked away. How did he explain it?

“People needed me, Galo.” Lio finally said.

“And so did I!” Galo screamed.

The two of them stopped and Galo hiccuped. He bowed his head and his tears fell onto the pavement below.

“I needed you. I needed you and… you weren’t there.” Galo whispered.

Lio felt his heart break as Galo slumped against the wall. He tried to reach out, but Galo pulled away from him.

“I lost… everything. Everything that ever mattered to me. My team, my job, Kray, all of it was disappearing before my eyes and you, you were the only constant in my life. The only thing I had left and then you were gone too.” Galo rubbed his face and Lio’s eyes started to water.

“Galo…” Lio called.

Galo looked at him and he looked so broken, just so defeated.

“Why? Why am I never good enough?” Galo begged.

Lio walked over and cupped his face. He gently rubbed the tears from his cheeks before pressing his forehead to Galo’s.

“You were always good enough. More than good. You did so much for me and everyone around you. You’re right, I wasn’t there. I was so trapped in my own head, I didn’t realize you needed help too. But I’m back now. I can fix this.” Lio whispered.

Galo held his wrists for a moment before pulling away. His eyes were clear as he pulled back.

“I’m sorry. But… I don’t think there is a way to fix this.” Galo whispered back.

Lio’s heart dropped and he closed his eyes, nodding slowly. It hurt, it hurt to hear those words and to feel Galo pull away. There was a moment where Galo let go completely and Lio was sure he would just crumble to pieces, but he didn’t feel Galo walk away. He opened his eyes and looked up.

“Right now, there isn’t a way to magically fix this. And it’s gonna take time to go back to how things were before…” Galo trailed off.

Galo is giving Lio another gift, another chance and Lio couldn’t feel more blessed by his kindness. Lio slipped a hand into Galo’s and smiled.

“I have all the time in the world to fix this.” Lio replied.

Galo nodded and then smiled.

“I guess I should show you the new apartment.” Galo said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Lio nodded.

“I would like that.”


End file.
